I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor - Chapter 90



Chapter 90

‘…It’s wretched.’

Jin Crow observed Baek Hwi-young’s memories flowing like a panorama from a step behind, his thoughts succinct.

What to say.

It felt like a dream of a butterfly.

It was certain that it was disgustingly unsettling.

Watching another self, like a wild creature, rampaging from the perspective of a stranger was never a pleasant experience.

Of course, even if that other self was now separated from his own identity.

Moreover, it wasn’t just that which troubled him.

‘It’s different from the death of Jin Crow that I knew. Why?’

Instructor Jin Crow.

The reason he had dismissed this body as merely a ‘decrepit delusion antagonist’ was simple.

In the original novel he had read, “Chronicles of the Galaxy,” that was how it was depicted, and his death was nothing special.

A common villain’s demise.

That was the extent of its impact, and the readers’ reaction was merely, ‘A rather charming villain has died.’

‘How did he die?’

He furrowed his brow, mulling it over.

He couldn’t quite remember, but perhaps he had gone mad. There were descriptions suggesting something had happened in the past, and the image of him being addicted to substances was similar.

Yet, he had no recollection of killing thirty-two soldiers and invading the capital of the Synthesized Nation, Earth, to slay a million citizens.

Rather, he remembered it being buried quite quietly.

As he pondered this, a headache struck him, and he narrowed his brow, soon realizing something.

‘It’s eerily silent.’

How had he managed to furrow his brow before?

Even when he lowered his gaze, nothing was visible, and even when he searched his body, nothing could be grasped.

The moment he realized this subtle contradiction, he instinctively clamped his mouth shut against the wave of nausea that surged within him, and soon, something overlapping with his consciousness twisted his mind under the weight of a powerful pull.

‘……!’

How to describe it?

It felt as if his brain had been placed in a waffle iron, then slowly crushed beneath a hydraulic press.

The scream born from a pain he had never known before was lodged in his throat, unable to escape, and even as he reached out with a desire to tear at his own head, there was nothing to grasp.

How long had it been like this?

As he pondered just how absurd the saying was that pain becomes familiar with time, a sudden calm washed over him, and soon, Jin Crow slowly lowered his gaze to the unfamiliar yet familiar sensation of liquid at his feet.

‘Here…’

Though his voice too was silenced, he could instinctively feel it.

This was the place he had once faced, ‘that place.’

Squish—.

The liquid, thick and clinging, seeped into the boots he wore, and soon, beyond the dark red pool of blood, a sea of corpses welcomed him, ever expanding.

…He had felt it before, but confronting it again was a torment in its own right.

He slowly raised his gaze.

Having encountered this space once before, he remembered that this swamp of bodies had piled up to form a mountain, and he knew who lay atop it.

‘Me.’

At last, where his gaze landed, a man with the same face as his own knelt still.

It had certainly been a hazy silhouette before.

Yet, now, the image of himself, newly encountered, was strikingly clear, as if a subtle haze had lifted.

Black hair.

Black eyes.

Pale skin and dark circles deeply etched beneath his eyes.

Long, curly hair cascading down to his cheeks, and the white shirt paired with a black uniform he always wore.

It was unmistakably himself.

He stared for a long while at that figure kneeling atop the mountain of corpses, yet strangely, he felt no discomfort.

Surely, gazing at the chains that bound him to a body bearing his own face should evoke some sense of dissonance.

‘Perhaps, this is the real Jin Crow.’

What had once been an uncertain guess was now a conviction.

It was not the first time he had felt the presence of himself, shackled, imprisoned, or confined atop countless bodies.

‘What in the world are you?’

Thus, I wished to ask.

Bound by chains, silenced, I yearned to hear the answer directly from him.

And just then.

Clank—.

The sound of heavy, cold chains reverberated through the silence, a space thick with the acrid scent of blood.

But that was not all.

The metallic tang brushed against my nostrils, chilling my very soul, as a fierce thirst and hunger crashed over him.

“…Has it begun?”

At last, cracks began to form slowly in the chains that had bound him until now, and soon, the chains binding him from all four directions began to crumble in unison.

Clank—. Thud!

Creaking and groaning!

With the clatter of metal brushing past his ears, hands from the mountain of corpses reached out, dragging the kneeling figure of Jin Crow down.

Yet, as if it were all too absurd, he gazed with half-lidded eyes at another version of himself staring back, and added,

“…The winter of calamity.”

The winter of calamity. Fimbulvetr.

An incomprehensible word flitted through his mind.

And soon, an overwhelming pressure surged forth, as if something long blocked within his flesh and spirit was bursting free.

“Gah!”

When Jin Crow opened his eyes again, what enveloped his vision was not the liquid swamp of blood, nor the towering mountain of corpses that he had to lift his gaze to see, nor even another version of himself freed from chains, but a girl with golden hair standing amidst the ruins like a wisp of haze.

In the midst of confusion, Jin Crow narrowed his eyes at the girl, and just as he was about to ask something.

〔It has been a long wait, Irregular.〕

The girl, glowing with golden light, welcomed him with a warm smile, despite being a stranger, and soon, without even realizing it, Jin Crow whispered her name as if it had surfaced from the depths of his mind.

“…Nectar?”

Surely, he had no knowledge of Nectar’s existence.

Yet, in response to his murmuring, the girl smiled faintly, a smile imbued with affirmation, and soon handed him the pitch-black sword that lay sprawled on the ground.

〔Questions later.〕

Jin Crow gazed at the sword held in the girl’s small hand with a slightly bewildered expression, then, as if entranced, he grasped it tightly.

And slowly, he rose to his feet, exhaling a short, deep breath as he set his feet upon the earth, just as the girl had said.

“…Yes, questions later.”

From noble mtl dot com

The gears spinning within him, glinting ominously, were undoubtedly a Quad.

*

It was no small matter that Ideale Kukenhausen had set foot in the Free Planet Alliance, a move that would stir considerable political and military controversy.

Naturally.

Given the circumstances, the Free Planet Alliance could hardly voice any objections, but for the Empire, it was akin to opening a front in a neutral territory, providing them with a pretext to intervene.

The Penta Gear was such a presence.

Each step was deliberate, and merely being on the front lines forced the enemy to expend unnecessary power.

“…Kuh!”

The special operations unit and the military police, along with the instructors who understood this better than anyone, were met with a scene that was pure shock and horror.

—Kraaarararara!

“Is this even possible? That mere creatures could stand against a Penta Gear-level special operations officer?”

“…Good heavens.”

The headquarters of the Mer Corporation, once a shining symbol of the Free Planet Alliance’s prosperity, had been reduced to a state that could only be described as rags.

All around lay shattered concrete and rebar, various materials and corpses tangled together, evoking a sense of revulsion, while the once towering structure was now precariously half-collapsed, teetering on the brink of total ruin.

Yet, even the threat of collapse was not as shocking as the scene unfolding before them.

It was only natural.

If you were to ask any soldier in this galaxy, they would likely scoff at the notion that mere creatures could rival a Penta Gear-level special operations officer, perhaps even seriously recommend a mental institution.

The problem was that this unbelievable spectacle was unfolding right in front of them.

—Kaaah!

With a roar, the creature tore at the rebar, as if to crush Ideale’s very flesh beneath its grasp.

Naturally, Ideale froze it, using it as a springboard to leap, her fingertips shimmering with blades of frost as she lunged at the beast.

Kwahwahwahwahwah!

Even as the creature’s body was pierced by the razor-sharp icicles, it did not waver in its ferocity.

‘What kind of regeneration…!’

She may not have realized it, but it was no wonder that the past Colonel Kim Cheol took considerable time to deal with mere Knights.

The firepower was overwhelming.

Each strike from a Penta Gear special operations officer could tear the limbs of the creatures asunder.

Yet, their regenerative abilities and vitality were equally astonishing.

Moreover, the foes they had faced until now were none other than humans. Inevitably, they could only unleash attacks and strikes aimed at human vulnerabilities.

This disparity was what furrowed her brow in concern.

“Arrogant…!”

Yet, it was clear that Ideale was overwhelming in firepower, and instead of retreating, she pressed King with an even colder, more chilling glare.

Crack!

She tore off his wings and burst his head.

With a blade that flashed like a shard of ice, she knelt and struck, while the Fourth Fleet’s special operations unit, Baek Hwi-young and Dok Go-ran, clung desperately to the writhing figure that occasionally rolled on the ground.

—Kraaak!

Though he had become a monster, did he still feel pain?

He would sometimes sever the parts that were caught, flying within the dome at an unbelievable speed, regenerating his flesh as he faced them.

Yet, the special operations officers were not at ease.

No, as time passed, their anxiety grew.

For it was not just them as individuals; King too did not stand alone against them.

—Come. My, slaves…!

Wounded and writhing beneath the gaping void, his monstrous roar echoed, causing the planet to tremble.

At last, the eyes of the void turtle, which had been scattering erosion spikes in the air, gleamed, and thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of creatures surged forth, their crimson eyes ablaze.

“…W-what do we do, Commander?”

“Th-this…”

The sight was so overwhelming that even Obia Timist, who had been leading the cadets outside the dome, was left bewildered, and it was nothing short of violent.

Imagine it.

Under a sky stained red and violet, waves of black beasts charging across the distorted earth.

But the bewilderment was brief; Obia cast aside the foolish smile she wore before the soldiers, scattering a chilling red glare. Then, with a smile that seemed ready to snap at any moment, she whispered softly.

“…Oh my. Isn’t it exhilarating?”

“Pardon?”

One of the soldiers questioned her, but already, Obia’s gaze had shifted away from anyone else.

Inside, Ideale was holding the monster at bay.

And the command she had received was singular.

Protect the cadets.

It was a bothersome task, but if that was the condition under which she could unleash herself, there was no reason not to comply.

With a swift motion—

She tossed aside her white uniform.

Then, playfully waving her hand at the bewildered soldiers, she whispered softly.

“I’m off~.”

“C-Commander!”

Naturally, the soldiers stared at her retreating figure with expressions that seemed to ask, ‘Has she finally lost her mind?’

A tide of countless creatures surged forth, tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands.

For an ordinary person, merely standing before such a sight might drive them to press a bullet into their temple, seeking to replenish the iron that had fled their veins.

Yet, in that moment, there was one thing they had forgotten.

“Hmm, hmm-hmm.”

With crimson light spilling from her eyes, she stepped out from the shadow of Ideale Kukenhausen’s absolute dominion, her inner quad gear whirring fiercely as she whispered softly.

「Muspelheim」

Soon, the ground beneath her twisted, the earth contorting in response.

Flames scattered, lava flowed, and she, as if savoring the encroaching heat, unbuttoned her shirt and swept her red hair back.

Though her domain may be smaller compared to Ideale’s absolute dominion, it was unmistakably her territory that unfurled.

“That’s the special operations officer of the Synthesized Nation.”

As they beheld this scene, the remnants of the Satra and the Lemaal Planetary Defense Force, who had been gathering the injured, came to a stark realization.

“…Were we truly just frogs in a well?”

There had been a time when they marveled at the power displayed by Jin Crow and the cadets.

But that admiration stemmed from their talents; they had never truly considered the difference between the special operations officers of the Planetary Defense Force and those of the Synthesized Nation.

Yet now, the truth dawned upon them.

The superhumans they had faced, whether Triple or Quad.

‘They are qualitatively different.’

The special operations officers of the Synthesized Nation were on an entirely different level.

Meanwhile, at that moment, Obia Timist, with her characteristic playful and madcap expression, foolishly and pathetically smiled at the beasts that dared to step into her domain.

“Kyahahaha!”

Major Obia Timist.

She too was a Quad Gear of the United Humanity Synthesized Nation.